Benjamin Edwards Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. reduced its Mastercard stake by 8.4% in the second quarter, selling 10,138 shares and retaining 111,091 shares valued at approximately $57.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 97.28% of Mastercard’s stock.
• Mastercard insiders sold shares recently, including CEO Michael Miebach’s $8.84 million sale and Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick’s $2.44 million sale; insiders sold 62,913 shares worth $35.8 million over the past 90 days.
• Mastercard reported quarterly earnings and revenue above analyst expectations, with EPS of $5.04 and revenue of $9.28 billion, up 14.1% year over year. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $661.93.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lowered its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 8.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 111,091 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 10,138 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $57,082,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MA. Robinswood Financial LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 820.0% during the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, First Pacific Financial raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 113.8% in the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 62 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,372 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $575.00, for a total value of $8,838,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,873,475. This represents a 14.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.31, for a total transaction of $2,440,926.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 31,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,781,695.49. This represents a 12.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 62,913 shares of company stock valued at $35,769,036. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of MA opened at $563.01 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $464.52 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. The company's fifty day moving average is $531.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $516.78. The firm has a market cap of $493.20 billion, a PE ratio of 30.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. Mastercard had a return on equity of 239.99% and a net margin of 46.34%.The business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.15 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is currently 19.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Mastercard from $665.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on Mastercard from $670.00 to $665.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $661.93.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.

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